BREAKING: Chile 8.8 Earthquake; Tsunami Advisory Issued for West Coast

The News Wire is monitoring a major earthquake that occurred early Saturday morning.

According to the United States Geological Survey the earthquake measured 8.8 with an epicenter 60 miles north-northwest of Chillan, Chile, and 200 miles southwest of Chile's capital, Santiago.

There are reports coming in of widespread heavy damage in Santiago.

Dozens are reported dead and damage is widespread throughout the country, however the extent of damage will not be known until sunrise.

Americans seeking information about relatives in Chile are directed to telephone, 1-800-407-4747.

The earthquake has generated a tsunami and there are reports a huge wave reached a populated area in the Robinson Crusoe Islands, which is about 410 miles off the Chilean coast.

Much of the Pacific region is now under either a tsunami warning or advisory.

A tsunami warning has been issued for all of Hawaii.

The bulletin directly from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: "A TSUNAMI HAS BEEN GENERATED THAT COULD CAUSE DAMAGE ALONG COASTLINES OF ALL ISLANDS IN THE STATE OF HAWAII. URGENT ACTION SHOULD BE TAKEN TO PROTECT LIVES AND PROPERTY."

The first waves are expected to arrive in Hawaii around 11 a.m. Southern California time.

At around 3:15 a.m. a tsunami advisory was issued for the West Coast.

As such officials at NOAA do not expect any major rise in sea activity off the Southern California coast, however, much like last summer's American Samoa earthquake the sea level could rise a few inches.

The first waves are expected to arrive in San Diego at 12:02 p.m. and at Newport Beach at 12:12 p.m.

The largest earthquake ever recorded, as long as records have been kept, struck the same area of Chile on May 22, 1960 measuring 9.5. The earthquake killed 1,655 people and left 2 million homeless. The tsunami that it caused killed people in Hawaii, Japan and the Philippines and caused damage to the west coast of the United States.